I just bought a car that has been sitting for a year. I open the radiator and the fluid is a brown color. I have roughly 20 miles to drive. Will this hurt the engine? Or should I get it towed? The heat works. I ran the engine for about an hour before realizing about the brown in the radiator. I don't want to drive it if I'm going to damage. So my question is having the car sit for a year will it make the antifreeze brown.

Answers from the Automotive Experts

Hi Mark
For your 2001 Buick Century the antifreeze would not turn brown if the car has been sitting for a year. This means there was water inside the radiator and that brown color is from rust (over the year) . It will not hurt the engine if you drive the vehicle as long as the radiator is fill of antifreeze. I recommend going to a reputable repair shop and getting the radiator flushed.